Method and apparatus for light recapture and sequential channel illumination

Abstract

A filter wheel having spirally shaped left and right channel 3D filters. The 3D filters are, for example, spectral separation filters. The filter is mounted, for example, close to an integrating rod output of a projector. The left and right channel filtered light scrolls across a modulation device which is energized with correspondingly scrolling left and right image data. In one embodiment, the integrating rod comprises mirrored surfaces to facilitate recycling of light reflected off the filter wheel. The filter wheel may be placed in a single or dual projector configuration. In one embodiment, the filters are fixed at the end of an integrating rod using “re-cycled” light to illuminate different channels of a projection system.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is: 
     
       1. A 3D display system, comprising:
 a projector system comprising a first channel projection system and a second channel projection system; 
 the first channel projection system comprising optics forming a first channel light path and a first channel modulation device configured to modulate a first channel spectrum of different color lights delivered to the modulator via the first channel light path; 
 the second channel projection system comprising optics forming a second channel light path and a second channel modulation device configured to modulate a second channel spectrum of different color lights delivered to the modulator via the second channel light path; 
 a first channel spectrum separator configured to separate spectrum outside the first channel spectrum of different color lights and prevent the separated spectrum outside the first channel spectrum from entering the first channel light path; 
 a second channel spectrum separator configured to separate spectrum outside the second channel spectrum of different color lights and prevent the separated spectrum outside the second channel spectrum from entering the second channel light path; and 
 recycling optics configured to re-direct spectrum by the first channel spectrum separator toward the second channel spectrum separator and visa versa; 
 viewing glasses comprising a first channel viewing filter comprising passbands corresponding to the first channel spectrum and blocking bands corresponding to the second channel spectrum and a second channel viewing filter comprising passbands corresponding to the first channel spectrum and blocking bands corresponding to the second channel spectrum; 
 wherein an endpoint of a passbands of one of the first and second viewing filters is shifted relative to the spectrum of its corresponding channel. 
 
     
     
       2. The 3D display system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first channel spectrum of different color lights comprises a first set of red, green, and blue color lights; and the second channel spectrum of different color lights comprises a second set of red, green, and blue color lights each different and separated from the first set of red, green, and blue lights. 
     
     
       3. The 3D display system according to  claim 1 , wherein the lights of the first and second channel spectrums comprise narrowband lights. 
     
     
       4. The 3D display system according to  claim 1 , wherein the lights of the first and second channel spectrums comprise narrowband green and blue lights having a full width half max of approximately less than 25 nm. 
     
     
       5. The 3D display system according to  claim 4 , wherein one of the first and second channel spectrums comprise at least one of more green color narrowband lights and more blue color narrowband lights than the other channel spectrum. 
     
     
       6. The 3D display system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first channel projection system comprises a first projector and the second channel projection system comprises a second projector. 
     
     
       7. The 3D display system according to  claim 6 , wherein the projectors comprise cinema projectors. 
     
     
       8. The 3D display system according to  claim 6 , wherein the first modulator of the first projector comprises a first 3-chip modulator and the second modulator of the second projector comprises a second 3-chip modulator. 
     
     
       9. The 3D display system according to  claim 6 , wherein:
 the first and second projector share a common lamphouse configured to produce light separable into the first channel spectrum and the second channel spectrum, the first and second modulators comprise a first 3-chip modulator and a second 3-chip modulator; 
 the first and second channel spectrums comprise narrowband lights comprising a plurality of colors including narrowband green and blue colors having a full width at half max of less than approximately 25 nm; 
 the projection system further comprising viewing glasses comprising a curved first channel viewing filter comprising passbands corresponding to the first channel spectrum and blocking bands corresponding to the second channel spectrum and a curved second channel viewing filter comprising passbands corresponding to the first channel spectrum and blocking bands corresponding to the second channel spectrum and a plurality of passbands of the viewing glasses comprising endpoints that are adjacent and shifted from corresponding channel spectrums that the passbands are configured to pass. 
 
     
     
       10. The 3D display system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first modulator comprises a first 3-chip modulator and the second modulator comprises a second 3-chip modulator. 
     
     
       11. The 3D display system according to  claim 10 , wherein the 3-chip modulators comprise at least one of a 3-chip DLP modulator and a 3-chip LCoS modulator. 
     
     
       12. The 3D display system according to  claim 1 , wherein the viewing filters are curved. 
     
     
       13. The 3D display system according to  claim 1 , wherein the passbands of each viewing filter encompass the spectrum of its corresponding channel. 
     
     
       14. The 3D display system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first channel spectrum separator and the second channel spectrum separator each comprise reflective filters respectively configured on first and second halves of a wheel synchronized with images produced by the modulators. 
     
     
       15. The 3D display system according to  claim 14 , wherein the modulators are inversely synchronized such that the first channel modulator is configured to modulate a first eye image in first channel spectrum provided by the first channel spectrum separator and the second channel modulator is configured to modulate a second eye image in second channel spectrum provided by the second channel spectrum separator during a first time period, and the first channel modulator is configured to modulate a second eye image in second channel spectrum provided by the second channel spectrum separator and the second channel modulator is configured to modulate a first eye image in first channel spectrum provided by the first channel spectrum separator during a second time period. 
     
     
       16. The 3D display system according to  claim 15 , further comprising viewing glasses comprising a curved first channel viewing filter comprising passbands corresponding to the first channel spectrum and blocking bands corresponding to the second channel spectrum and a curved second channel viewing filter comprising passbands corresponding to the first channel spectrum and blocking bands corresponding to the second channel spectrum and at least one passband of the viewing glasses comprises an endpoint adjacent and shifted from its corresponding channel spectrum. 
     
     
       17. A 3D display system, comprising:
 a projector system comprising a first channel projection system and a second channel projection system; 
 the first channel projection system comprising optics forming a first channel light path and a first channel modulation device configured to modulate a first channel spectrum of different color lights delivered to the modulator via the first channel light path; 
 the second channel projection system comprising optics forming a second channel light path and a second channel modulation device configured to modulate a second channel spectrum of different color lights delivered to the modulator via the second channel light path; 
 a first channel spectrum separator configured to separate spectrum outside the first channel spectrum of different color lights and prevent the separated spectrum outside the first channel spectrum from entering the first channel light path; 
 a second channel spectrum separator configured to separate spectrum outside the second channel spectrum of different color lights and prevent the separated spectrum outside the second channel spectrum from entering the second channel light path; and 
 recycling optics configured to re-direct spectrum by the first channel spectrum separator toward the second channel spectrum separator and visa versa; 
 viewing glasses comprising a first channel viewing filter comprising passbands corresponding to the first channel spectrum and blocking bands corresponding to the second channel spectrum and a second channel viewing filter comprising passbands corresponding to the first channel spectrum and blocking bands corresponding to the second channel spectrum; 
 wherein the passbands of the viewing glasses are shifted relative to the spectrum of its corresponding channel. 
 
     
     
       18. The 3D display system according to  claim 17 , wherein one of the first and second channel spectrums comprises at least one of more green color lights and more blue color lights than the other channel spectrum. 
     
     
       19. The 3D display system according to  claim 17 , wherein the viewing filter passbands are blue shifted relative to the spectrum of light in its corresponding channel. 
     
     
       20. The 3D display system according to  claim 19 , wherein the viewing filters are curved.